The Jakarta Post, July 20, 2004
Prosecutors still preparing charges against Ba'asyir
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta
The Attorney General's Office is still preparing charges against Muslim cleric Abu
Bakar Ba'asyir and hopes to bring him to court within a month, an official says.
Office spokesman Kemas Yahya Rahman said the Jakarta Prosecutor's Office was
now waiting for Ba'asyir to be transferred from the National Police headquarters and to
be placed under its custody.
"Our prosecutors are now drafting charges against Ba'asyir while waiting for the police
to hand him over to us. Usually by this stage, we will bring a suspect to court within a
month," Kemas told The Jakarta Post.
Kemas declined to state what charges the prosecutors would present against
Ba'asyir, who has been accused of masterminding terrorist attacks across the
country since 1999.
National Police Antiterrorism Division director Brig. Gen. Pranowo confirmed that they
had completed Ba'asyir's dossier and would be ready to hand him over to the
prosecutor's office soon.
"We have coordinated with the prosecutor's office on what charges should be pressed
against Ba'asyir. They are now preparing the charges," said Pranowo.
He said the police were concentrating on the evidence that Ba'asyir had planned
several bomb attacks across the country since 1999, including the Oct. 12, 2002 Bali
bombing.
One of Ba'asyir's lawyers Ahmad Mihdan said he and his team had not received any
letter informing them that their client's dossier had been completed and that their
client would be transferred to the Jakarta Prosecutor's Office.
"According to the law, the police must notify us that our client is to be transferred to
the prosecutor's office. However, we are ready to accompany him during detention and
later in court," Ahmad told the Post.
He said it was clear that the police and prosecutors had conspired from the beginning
to convey the impression to the public that Ba'asyir was guilty and should be tried as
soon as possible by releasing many false statements.
Police named Ba'asyir a terrorist suspect on April 16 and charged him under articles
14, 15, 17 and 18 of Law No. 15/2003 on antiterrorism for planning, coercing, abetting
and perpetrating terrorist attacks. He could face the death sentence if convicted.
National Police chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Suyitno Landung Sudjono said
previously that as the spiritual leader of the clandestine group Jamaah Isalmiyah (JI),
Ba'asyir was responsible for planning the bomb attacks in the country between 1999
and 2002.
JI is a UN-listed terrorist organization blamed for the Oct. 12, 2002 Bali bombings and
the Aug. 5, 2003 JW Marriott Hotel attack in Jakarta.
Ba'asyir was tried last year but prosecutors failed to prove his involvement in terrorist
activities. However, he was sentenced to prison for immigration offenses and
document forgery. Ba'asyir was rearrested shortly after his release in April, triggering
a violent clash between his supporters and police.
The police said recently that they had found new evidence and witnesses that had not
been presented in the 2003 trial to be used in the upcoming trial.
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